[Prophet in the wilderness]

Here is a very telling sign:

" Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, delivered a snub to Airbus yesterday by saying there were "big question marks" over its A380 superjumbo and indicating the airline was potentially interested in buying the stretched Boeing 747 about to be launched by its rival. "

I was wondering ? from this article, it says that BA can " exchange " some 747-400 for new 747-800, does that mean they were leased ? or will Boeing lease them back, or buy them back, and convert them to cargo planes ?
Boeing can still find a market were they can sell some used 747-400 converted to cargo versions.
( from the Independent Online article: BA chief hints he may buy new Boeing, not Airbus ) " BA has 57 Boeing 747-400s in its fleet, the oldest of which is 16 years. They seat 413 passengers in a standard three-class configuration. It is considering exchanging some for the new 747 Advanced, which will have an extra 30-40 seats. "

[lowbuck]

Today, Flight International (www.flightinternational.com) had an article about how tight the market for new and used (including converted) wide body freighter is.

Seems that some of the "cargo only" carriers are having to step up to new aircraft. Yet some more positive news for Boeing.